The exact details about how the guidebook came about are fuzzy, but the excitement around the initial idea is still fresh in my memory. I remember the bright blue flyer that Sally Hudson Potestio shared with us enthusiastically at one of the first meetings, a tri-fold flyer chock-full of English-speaking resources in town. Potentially, a lifeline for English-speaking foreigners moving to Bologna who needed to navigate their way around the city and its services.
So why not expand on that we thought. Thanks to designer and communications entrepreneur Ann Rathkopf, who tipped us off about the call; VP Ann Gagliardi, who not only knew the city well, but who also a passion for writing; long-time Bologna resident and community builder Joanne Maloney to help make connections; and professional photographer Elizabeth Garvey, we seemed to have all the ingredients in that initial board to be able to create a unique resource that Bologna Inside would become. Equally important were the many members keen to get involved in such an exciting adventure.
This project galvanized the newly founded group to join forces around one of its main goals: providing resources and support for English-speaking women in Bologna.
Founder of the International Women’s Forum Bologna